Air conditioning



(kt. 8, 1935. H. TROTTER. JR., ET AL 2,016,825

AIR CONDITIONING Filed Sept. 22, 1954 2 T 4 w M V /m mm; A 0 6 L m 90 M1 4 RE l 5 m .8 mu Y B 4 Patented Oct. 8, 1935 AIR CONDITIONING HerbertTrotter, Jr., Woodstock, and Jesse W. Beams, Charlottesville, Va.

. Application September 22, 1934, Serial No. 745,129

13 Claims.

Our invention relates to air conditioning.

It is the object of our invention to provide small bodies of conditionedair or air treated in a predetermined manner, which may be appliedindividually and in controlled rapidity of succes-' sion around anygiven person or object.

It is our object to provide a succession of vortex rings of treated airwhich may be applied around a person or object so asto avoid thetreatment of the vast body of air in an enclosure in which the person orobject may be.

The conditioning of air is expensive. The securing of a uniform resultof conditioned air is expensive. Heretofore, it has been customary inapparatus of this type to control uniformly in an enclosure thecondition-of conditioned air and to supply a large bulk of such air andto maintain it in constant circulation in order to secure the adequateconditions of relative humidity,

temperature, circulation and fresh air introduction to reduce odors andto provide comfort. Heretofore, the area immediately adjacent a personor object in the enclosure in which the air so conditioned would affectthe person or object in the enclosure was a relatively small areaascompared to the vast area of the rest of the enclosure where the airhad to be also maintained in the same condition even though much of itwould never affect, encounter or engage the person or the object. Thus,an enormous waste has arisen in many installations through theapplication of conditioned air necessary to large enclosures, such astheaters or auditoriums, in tremendous volumes for the purpose ofapplying it to a number of limited areas adjacent each person, the totalof which areas is relatively small compared to the total volume of theenclosure.

Again, the problem has always arisen in the air conditioning of largeenclosures where numerous persons are gathered of preventing drafts dueto the factv that a constant circulation is necessary for suitableevaporation and mixing of the contents of the enclosure to maintainuniformity of temperature and humidity and to maintain distribution ofthe fresh air as well as the conditioned air. Necessarily, thiscirculation has to be a constant one and, being constant,has set up theproblem of drafts. To avoid the effect of drafts, it has been necessarynot only to reduce the velocity of the air so circulated which reducesthe rate in evaporation of the person over whom the air is passing, butit has also been necessary to increase the temperature of the air socirculated to prevent the eifect of cold drafts.

55, Our invention provides for the delivery of a series of vortex ringswhich constantly expand in area as they progressively proceed from thepoint of exit from the apparatus producing them outwardly into the room.

It is our invention to deliver successively small 6 quantities of airaround the object to be treated with the air. We can deliver these ringsin small quantities and with great frequency or relatively high velocitydue to the fact that there is no continuity between them in the sense ofa blast of 10 air which would cause a draft. By eliminating this draftyfeeling, we are enabled to reduce the temperature while, at the sametime, to increase the volume of air actually applied to the person orobject without any of the disadvantages of a 15 cold draft. By ourinvention, we are able to apply a closely-regulated andaccurately-conditioned relatively small body of air directly to theperson or object-aifected so that substantially all of the air which weapply is applied efiectively to the 20 person and the large bulb ofconditioned air which is not so effectively applied in the present airconditioning systems is eliminated. "Ihe corresponding savings and thecorresponding accuracy of application will be immediately apparent. 25By breaking up the bodies of air so applied and emitting them in theform of vortex rings at intervals, we get away from the continuity ofthe draft effect; we provide for evaporation by successive applicationsof the conditioned air and 30 we reduce the cost because we only usethat amount of air in a particular area in which the person or objectstands and, by our vortex rings, we surround the person or object with agentle bath of the conditioned air to give the effect of a 35 lightsummer breeze on an early June morninga result that has hitherto beenlong sought but not attained in the art of regulating the condition ofair according to the needs of an object or a human being. 40 Ourinvention has the further advantage that, as the vortex rings enter anenclosure, they tend not to diffuse with the unconditioned air buttravel in a straight line until they strike persons or objects and thento diffuse over them. 45 Thus, the air that is conditioned remains sountil it strikes persons or objects. Of course, the rings have a finiterange which depends on the manner in which they are produced. After thevortex rings reach the end of their range 50 they diffuse the air morethoroughly that has been conditioned with the air that has not beenconditionedwithout the creation of drafts because these vortex rings areconstantly expandlng and moving bodies'of conditioned air presenting themaximum surface for distribution and contact with the untreated air.

Our invention is useful for merely circulating the air when it is nototherwise conditioned. It takes the place of an electric fan without thedisadvantages of handling large volumes of air and without drafts.

Referring to the drawing:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view showing how the vortex rings of air canbe produced;

Figure 2 is a perspective of one of our vortex rings showing the generaldirection of rotation of the ring of air thus produced which results inits constantly expanding character. The air in the ring rotates whilethe ring moves forwardly;

v Figure 3 is another view of the ring indicating the samecharacteristics;

Figure 4 is a section through a floor showing an opening as in the caseof theater ventilation with the vortex rings making their exit andascending around a person seated in the theater adjacent the opening;

Figure 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Figure 1;

Figure 6 is a rear elevation of Figure 1;

Figure 7 is a vertical section through the diaphragm for creating vortexrings: this is a modifled form.

Referring to the drawing in detail, I is a. box having a vortex opening2 supplied with cool air from the ice block 3. The rear wall of the boxis provided with a diaphragm 4 which is actuated by the pusher plate 5through the pitman 6, crank 1, gears 8 and 9 and electric motor ID. Theexact details of this arrangement are of no importance as our vortexrings can be produced in any one of a number of manners. They may beproduced with or without the treatment of the air. The pin II on thecrank I serves to actuate its companion link la attached to the pitman6.

In Figure 7 we have shown an alternative form in which the diaphragm 4is directly connected to the pitman 6 which, in turn, is connectedpivotally eccentrically to a cam I2 which is operated in associationwith the cam arm l3 and follower pin I4.

As will be seen in Figures 2, 3 and 4, the vortex rings of air aredischarged in succession, the rapidity of which can be controlled. Theair in the ring rotates as indicated by the arrows while the ring movesforward and, at the same time, the ring expands. The person or object isthus surrounded by a series of disconnected, encircling, rotating andexpanding bodies of air and is, therefore, bathed with the air and maybe heated or cooled or otherwise treated with the air without thecreation of drafts and with the application of the air to the person orobject only rather than the gross waste of it generally in theenclosure. 1

It will be understood that we desire to comprehend within our inventionsuch modifications as may be necessary to adapt it to varying conditions and uses.

Having thus fully described our invention, what we claim as new anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is i.

1. In a method of conditioning and discharglng air, cooling a body ofair, and moving the air in a plurality of vortex rings about an object.

2. In a method of conditioning and discharglng air, cooling 9. confinedbody of air, and delivering to an enclosure such cooled air in aplurality of vortex rings about an object in the enclosure in an areamaterially less than the total area of the enclosure.

3. In a method of air conditioning and air discharging, conditioningair, delivering it over an object to be conditioned in a. plurality ofsuccessive vortex rings, and thereby treating the object progressivelyby successive waves of conditioned air.

4. In a method of air conditioning and air discharging, conditioning airby cooling it, and delivering it over an object in the presence of airof higher temperature to be conditioned in a plurality of successivevortex rings, and permitting said rings to expand and rotate on theannular axis thereof to progressively cool by small increments theobject without sudden reduction of temperatures.

5. In a method of conditioning objects in an enclosure, such as persons,where the persons occupy a total area much less than the total area ofthe enclosure and the air in the enclosure is of higher temperature thanthe conditioned air, delivering over each person a plurality ofconditioned air vortex rings of lower temperature than the area of theenclosure in small increments to cool the person without chilling theperson.

Y 6. In a method of conditioning and discharging air, confining a bodyof air and cooling it while so confined, compressing the body of airsuccessively at intervals while so confined, and discharging thecompressed cooled air in successive vortex rings into a locality ofhigher temperature other than the area of compression.

7. In a method of air conditioning in an enclosure having a relativelylarge body of air in which a number of objects are located, deliveringover each object a plurality of vortex rings of intensively conditionedair of an amount suflicient to treat the object but insufficient tocondition the air in the entire enclosure.

8. In an apparatus for conditioning air, means to cool air, means, tocompress air at intervals, and means to regulate the discharge of theair outside of the area. of compression and cooling in a plurality ofvortex rings.

9. In combination in an air conditioning apparatus, means of intensivelyconditioning a limited body of air, means of compressing said body atintervals, means for discharging the compressed air in a series ofvortex rings into a separate enclosure of much greater area than thearea of compression of the intensively conditioned air.

10. In combination, an enclosure having a restricted port on one side, apulsation means for pulsating the air and discharging it through theport, and means between the restricted port and pulsation means forcooling the air in the enclosure whereby a plurality of vortex rings ofcooled air will be discharged through said port.-

11. In combination, an enclosure having a restricted port on one side, apulsation means for pulsating the air and discharging it through theport, and means between the restricted port and pulsation means forcooling the air in the enclosure whereby a plurality of vortex rings ofcooled air will be discharged through said port, said pulsation meanscomprising a flexible diaphragm wall constituting one wall of theenclosure.

12. In an air conditioning apparatus, an enclosure having a restrictedport on one side, means for cooling air on another side, and a pulsationmeans comprising a movable wall on the side opposite the side of theenclosure with the opening to cause the air to move across the aircooling means and out of the restricted opening in a succession ofvortex rings.

13. In an air conditioning apparatus, a box having a restricted openingon one side, a movable wall on another side opposite the side with therestricted opening. means to cool the air in the box located betweensaid sides so that the air moving from one side to the other will passover said cooling means; and means to actuate said movable wall to causethe discharge of vortex rings of cooled air from said box.

HERBERT TROT'I'ER, JR. JESSE W. BEAMS.

